Minerva, Oregon

Minerva, Oregon
Unincorporated community
A ranch in Minerva
Minerva Show map of Oregon Minerva Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 44°4′15″N 123°57′33″W
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Lane
Elevation	33 ft (10 m)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	97439
Area code(s)	458 and 541
GNIS feature ID	1146323

Minerva is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States.[1] It is located about 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Florence near the North Fork Siuslaw River within the Siuslaw National Forest.[2]

When local settlers petitioned the post office department for a new office in the 1890s, the name "Bays Landing" was suggested to honor local resident James E. Bay.[3] The department suggested a one-word name would be more convenient, so the office was named Minerva after Mr. Bay's wife.[3] L. C. Ackerley wrote the petition and the post office was first located in the Ackerley home.[3][4] The post office closed in about 1940.[4]

At one time Minerva had a store with a gas pump, a United Evangelical Church, a grange hall, and public school, but none of these remain at the site today.[5] The school at Minerva served students in grades 1 through 8, and older students attended boarding school in Florence.[4] When a road was constructed to Florence students of all ages attended school there and the Minerva school was closed.[4]

References

1. "Minerva". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
2. Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. p. 38. ISBN 0-89933-347-8.
3. McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 649. ISBN 978-0875952772.
4. "North Fork of the Siuslaw River Watershed Analysis" (PDF). Siuslaw National Forest: United States Forest Service. December 16, 1994. p. 15. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
5. Friedman, Ralph (1990). In Search of Western Oregon (2nd ed.). Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, Ltd. p. 71. ISBN 0-87004-332-3.

External links

• Historic image of a covered bridge near Minerva from Salem Public Library